Pittsburgh Brewing Co. celebrates new East Deer facility with Oktoberfest

The brewery known for regional classics such as Iron City and IC Light finally got a chance to show off its new, state-of-the-art brewery to the public on Saturday during an Oktoberfest celebration.

Pittsburgh Brewing Co. relocated its operations from Latrobe to East Deer last year and this weekend held its first public event on the 42-acre property, which originally housed a Pittsburgh Plate Glass factory (today’s PPG Industries).

The German beer festival attracted more than 800 attendees on Saturday afternoon, according to the brewery.

Dale and Katey Gorman were decked out in German lederhosen under the shade of a massive tent, enjoying the festival.

“Beer always tastes better when you are wearing lederhosen,” said Dale Gorman of Natrona Heights. He said they just got back from a trip to Munich but said the couple couldn’t pass up another Oktoberfest when it was located so close to home.

Pittsburgh Brewing owner Cliff Forrest attended the festival decked out in German clothing, too. He said it felt great to show off the new facility and grounds, and to celebrate with residents of the Allegheny Valley and beyond. He said when the glass factory shut down in 2018, the surrounding community was worried the massive complex would become dilapidated.

“A lot of people I have talked to today are from nearby,” he said. “It’s been really fantastic.”

The event ran from 3-8 p.m. on the lawn and grounds in front of the massive brewery. Guests could play lawn games such as cornhole and listen to polka music and dance with friends underneath a large tent. A stein holding competition was held, and German fare like currywurst, pretzels and brats abounded.

Full house here at Pittsburgh Brewing Company’s Oktoberfest celebration. It’s their first ever public event at their new, state of the art brewery in Creighton in the Allegheny Valley. Over 800 tickets sold, completely sold out. Company says it will likely expand event next year. pic.twitter.com/OLCboZ1i3a

— Ryan Deto (@RyanDeto) September 30, 2023

Forrest said the company crafted a special beer for the event called Herman’s Festbier, which is an Oktoberfest-style lager named in honor of one of Pittsburgh Brewing’s mascots, Herman the German. Herman can be found on cans of Old German Lager.

Pittsburgh Brewing has been expanding its experimentation of craft beers in a specialized 10-barrel beer house since moving to the new facility. The festbier was brewed in the 10-barrel beer house. Forrest said it could be distributed to the public next year.

For now, German beer fans will have to visit the East Deer location to sample it.

Katey Gorman said she was enjoying the festbier and she was pleased with how the facility is helping to revitalize the Alle-Kiski Valley.

Mike Strain, of Murrysville, has been a long-time Iron City beer drinker. He also praised the company for moving to East Deer and believes it will provide a lot of jobs for the area. He stuck with classic Iron City while enjoying the festival.

“I am drinking Iron City because that’s what my dad drank, and that’s what I would steal out of the fridge when I was teenager,” he said.

Pittsburgh Brewing marketing coordinator Rachel Semelbauer said the company has been itching to show off the new brewery to the public and the event was more successful than they imagined.

She said the facility is big enough to host thousands of people instead of just hundreds, and the company expects to hold an Oktoberfest again next year over multiple days as part of a larger event.